Terms of Service

Last updated: January 1, 2025

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing and using Rate My Politician ("the Service", "we", "us", or "our"), you accept and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use the Service.

2. Description of Service

Rate My Politician is a platform that allows users to rate, review, and comment on elected officials and politicians in the United States and Canada. The Service provides information about politicians and enables public discourse about their performance and policies.

3. User Accounts

3.1 Registration

To use certain features of the Service, you must register for an account. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration and to update such information to keep it accurate, current, and complete.

3.2 Account Security

You are responsible for safeguarding your account password and for any activities or actions under your account. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account.

3.3 Account Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account at any time for any reason, including violation of these Terms of Service.

4. User Conduct

You agree not to:

  • Post false, misleading, defamatory, or libelous content
  • Impersonate any person or entity or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity
  • Post content that violates any law or regulation
  • Post content that is threatening, harassing, abusive, or hateful
  • Post spam, unsolicited advertising, or promotional content
  • Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service or other user accounts
  • Interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers
  • Use automated tools (bots, scrapers, etc.) to access the Service
  • Collect or harvest personal information about other users
  • Use the Service for any illegal or unauthorized purpose

5. User Content

5.1 Ownership

You retain ownership of any content you post, including reviews, ratings, and comments ("User Content"). By posting User Content, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, and distribute your User Content in connection with the Service.

5.2 Responsibility

You are solely responsible for your User Content. We do not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of any User Content. We are not liable for any User Content or the consequences of posting or publishing it.

5.3 Content Moderation

We reserve the right (but are not obligated) to remove, edit, or reject any User Content that violates these Terms of Service or that we deem inappropriate, offensive, or harmful.

5.4 Guidelines for Reviews

When posting reviews, please ensure they are:

  • Based on your honest opinion and experience
  • Factually accurate to the best of your knowledge
  • Relevant to the politician's public role and performance
  • Respectful and constructive, even when critical
  • Free from personal attacks or discriminatory language

6. Intellectual Property

The Service and its original content (excluding User Content), features, and functionality are owned by Rate My Politician and are protected by international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of our Service without our express written permission.

7. Third-Party Links

The Service may contain links to third-party websites or services that are not owned or controlled by us. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party websites or services.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE. WE DO NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR RELIABILITY OF ANY CONTENT OR INFORMATION PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICE.

9. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS OR REVENUES, WHETHER INCURRED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, OR ANY LOSS OF DATA, USE, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES RESULTING FROM: (A) YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE; (B) ANY UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR USE OF OUR SERVERS; (C) ANY USER CONTENT OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SERVICE.

10. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Rate My Politician and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including reasonable attorney's fees, arising out of or in any way connected with your access to or use of the Service, your User Content, or your violation of these Terms of Service.

11. Privacy

Your use of the Service is also governed by our Privacy Policy. Please review our Privacy Policy to understand our practices regarding the collection and use of your personal information.

12. Governing Law

These Terms of Service shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any legal action or proceeding arising under these Terms shall be brought exclusively in the courts located in the United States.

13. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify or replace these Terms of Service at any time. If a revision is material, we will provide at least 30 days' notice prior to any new terms taking effect. What constitutes a material change will be determined at our sole discretion. By continuing to access or use the Service after any revisions become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised terms.

14. Severability

If any provision of these Terms of Service is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be struck and the remaining provisions shall be enforced to the fullest extent under law.

15. Contact Information

If you have any questions about these Terms of Service, please contact us: